Norinco 1911

I have a chance to buy a Norinco 1911 for $300 from a buddy. I know nothing about 1911's but have been wanting to get a good one built. Took it to the gunsmith and said it was in very good condition and to jump on it. And said they are the best 1911's to do a custom bulid on. What do you guys think

I've havew a Norinco 1911 I bought in 1995, they are a really good 1911, much better then the cheap ones from Rock River. The reason there popular to customize is because the steel is much harder then most others. I've heard of gunsmiths breaking their tools trying to work on them.
Thats a great price and I'd pick it up.

$300 is not a bad price for a Communist Chinese knockoff of a 1911A1 these days.
The steel may be strong, it is definitely low machinability. A gunsmith willing to work on the frame and slide must have heavy duty equipment and a lot of patience.
Budget for a new barrel in the rebuild, there are Internet Reports of poor fit.
I knew a guy who said the skew hammer and sear pin holes on his were no problem, he just filed the sear to a matching angle to engage both the hammer hooks.

I've havew a Norinco 1911 I bought in 1995, they are a really good 1911, much better then the cheap ones from Rock River. The reason there popular to customize is because the steel is much harder then most others. I've heard of gunsmiths breaking their tools trying to work on them.
Thats a great price and I'd pick it up.

I had one back in about 1995. Great pistol. It cost $295 before taxes. It was of sufficient quality that, at the time, Wilson Combat considered it an acceptable base to send in for a custom pistol build.

Norincos are very good 1911s. While they're a bit crude looking, compared to some modern GI replicas, they built like a tank. Norincos are built in China out of old railroad steel, which is very high quality material. Its this fact that makes them desirable for custom builds.

There is one in town here that would fit right in on bac's rug alongside the custom and boutique stuff he shows. We are blessed with a 1911 specialist who brought it up to full custom mechanical specs to the customer's taste, cursing the slow cutting, tool killing "railroad steel" all the while. It then went out for a professional finish with polished and blued slide, hardchrome receiver in the 1970s IPSC two-tone style. It looks good and shoots reliably and accurately, a fine gun all around. It still says "made in China" but that bothers some people less than it does me.